System and method for real-time management of mobile resources

ABSTRACT

A system and method are disclosed for real-time management of mobile resources. The management system includes an on board system, a processor, and a data center. The on board system is provided with the mobile resource to be managed and includes a number of sensors to monitor various conditions. Each sensor collects information independently and asynchronously with respect to the other sensors. The processor collects the information from the sensors and saves it in the form of synchronous data. A continuous two-way connection is established between the on board system and the data center across a wireless communication network. The data center monitors at least one sensed state from the sensors based on receipt of the synchronous data from the on board system. The data center can also provide instructions to the on board system in response to the state that is being monitored.

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 from U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 60/726,168, filed Oct. 14, 2005, andPCT/US2006/39880, filed Oct. 13, 2006 which is incorporated in itsentirety by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to management of mobile assets and, moreparticularly, to a system for monitoring mobile assets in real time.

Wireless monitoring of remote assets, whether fixed machines, mobilevehicles, or inventory contained in mobile vehicles, is well describedin the literature and in prior art. In general, technologies have beendescribed to gather sensory data, modulate or encode that data as adigital or analog signal, transmit the signal to a processing center,demodulate or decode the signal, and then send it to a user. Thesemonitoring systems gather and send data in, usually, one direction andat discrete times for later processing. When they do send data in bothdirections (data source to user and also user to data source), thetransmissions are usually accomplished in batch mode, meaning acommunication session is opened for the purpose of communicating dataand then closed until a later time, when another session is openedagain.

Complete management of any asset needs communication to be bidirectionaland nearly continuous, as ever more complex operational proceduresrequire real-time data analysis and updating of operation instructions.The tasks involved in management of assets in an operational settinginclude defining asset availability, defining current asset conditionsthat affect limitations in functions that can be implemented, inscheduling of the asset to implement a specific function, in monitoringthe performance of the function by the asset against the performanceplan, and in reporting information for function recording andaccounting. Monitoring is but one piece of the management processdescribed.

Demands for constant knowledge or security, temperature, humidity,pressure, and other operating conditions require more and more datagathering. Managing and minimizing theft, counterfeiting, public safety,and health all require constant monitoring and bidirectional informationflow, with each information transfer being dependent on currentconditions as well as previous data from the user perspective (like astorage container being cut open in a theft attempt) and changes ininformation in the management center environment (like a new order todeliver or a change in a customer's schedule).

The lack of defined communications networks and the possibilities ofasynchronous changes in the structure of the asset and the linkagesbetween the structural components makes the real-time, bidirectionaloperational control situation far more complex. For example, a truck (ortractor), trailer, and truck driver may all be linked together withinone specific activity. However, drivers may change, trucks may switchtrailers, and pallets and containers may be changed between trailers andwarehouses. Data acquisition must therefore be independent for thesmallest independent asset, and each data must be able to becommunicated separately or together with other assets.

Making matters even more complex is that not only can the linkageschange (driver to truck to trailer to pallet), but the structure canchange, as in one case a trailer's temperature may need to be monitoredand in another a humidity or a door or wall security may need to bemonitored. These structural needs can change with location and operator.Further, the data and associated linkages must be maintained so they canbe reported from any dimension. For example, a pallet could spandifferent trailers, which span different trucks, which span differentdrivers. And reporting must offer complete data from the frame ofreference of the pallet, from the frame of reference of the trailer,from the frame of reference of the truck, and from the frame ofreference of the driver.

The distributed nature of the assets requires that the mobile assetdefine the linkage changes, though they may be prescribed from themanagement center. This means that while the management center may makethe decisions, the mobile asset must originate, maintain, and manage thecommunication and must confirm changes in status, with the linkageseither according to plan or not.

These management needs require real-time data acquisition, analysis, andcommunication in both directions, i.e., management system to asset andasset to management system. And communications must be guaranteed inorder that the management system can rely on the automated system topresent reliable information. And, the data gathering and datadistributing mechanisms must allow data combination in any actualconfiguration, with the configuration being determined by the assetsitself.

Conventional communications techniques involving landline connectionsand even computer network connections can be used for management ofassets that are fixed in location. With connection to a gateway, to awide area network or to the internet, information can be sent to manyremote users. These systems can maintain a persistent (i.e., always on)connection, allowing, in principal, continuous communication andcomplicated feedback algorithms for asset control.

With recent advances in wireless networking, wireless network systemsare now available that communicate via internet protocol techniques overa local network, though asset mobility is limited to a range of a fewhundred feet. Remote monitoring and commanding with conventionalinformation flow management concepts can be implemented using industrystandard communications protocols if the mobile asset can be withinrange of a fixed communication gateway.

With straight line of sight between transmitter and receiver, certainother wireless communications techniques are possible. And highfrequency and satellite transmissions have become feasible, althoughonly for batch communication that does not permit true real-timecontrol. With assets that move outside of available communicationsnetworks, these types of protocols are not practical since they do notmanage and confirm communication delivery, they do not support eitherpersistent bidirectional information flow from multiple configurationcomponents on each end of the communication, or they simply do notinvolve practical costs.

Existing techniques can be used to monitor and report status of assetswith wider mobility ranges, but monitoring and reporting does not, inand of itself consider real-time, continuous bidirectional managementinformation flow with guaranteed communication integrity.

Transmission for these monitoring needs can be implemented by a varietyof wireless technologies. Some such wireless technologies employcellular radio transmission, some utilize satellite networks, and somemay use a specific local and/or private radio system. Many wirelessremote monitoring systems utilize batch communication, and some systemsemploy feedback mechanisms to command a remote operation.

Batch communications generally involve finite commands sent periodicallyfrom remote asset to a data center. The communications may specifyspecific information at specific intervals, and throughput is oftenlimited to a subset of information necessary to fully implement themanagement function. In order to implement certain management functions(e.g., such as real-time sales order negotiation and booking, orderscheduling and routing, and execution and reporting of mobileactivities), however, information must be organized and coordinated inmulti-level, real-time feedback loops with guaranteed integrity. Also,the structure of the commanding and reporting must allow for datacombination as well as parsing on both asset-side and management-side,with a real-time asset-configurable methodology.

There exists a need for a system capable of providing data communicationsufficient to permit operational efficiencies with high reliability.

There also exists a need for an always-on, persistent connection betweenthe decision control point and an operations execution asset forproviding true real-time command, control, and communication.

There also exists a need for an ability to control the environmentalstatus of the asset and any inventory or other material, with commandingand feedback allowing automated data transactions without humanintervention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

These and other needs are addressed, at least in part, by the presentinvention, wherein a wireless mobile resource management system providesa persistent connection for exchanging asynchronous informationcontained in a synchronous data stream.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the present invention, awireless mobile resource management system includes an on board system,a data center, and at least one customer system. The on board systemincludes a position locating system for determining a location of the onboard system. A plurality of sensors are provided for monitoring variousconditions and independently collecting information corresponding tosensed states of the conditions being monitored and collecting theinformation asynchronously with respect to other sensors. The on boardsystem further includes a transceiver for transmitting and receivinginformation over a wireless communication network. The management systemincludes a processor for collecting the asynchronous sensor datacollected by the plurality of sensors and saving the asynchronous datain a synchronous format. The management system also includes a datacenter for monitoring at least one sensed state from the plurality ofsensors and providing instructions to the on board system in response tothe at least one monitored sensed state. The data center includes acommunication server for establishing a first communication link withthe on board system over the wireless communication network, and furtherestablishing a second communication link over a data communicationnetwork; a data center processor for processing synchronous data, andgenerating parallel streams of sensor data corresponding to theasynchronous sensor data collected by the plurality of sensors; and adatabase for storing operational transactions of the on board system atpredetermined time intervals and/or upon a change in a sensed state ofat least one of the conditions being monitored. A continuous two-wayconnection is also established between the on board system and the datacenter across the wireless communication network, and the synchronousdata saved by the processor is synchronous with respect to the datacenter processor.

In accordance with one or more specific embodiments of the presentinvention, the position of the on board system can be determined usingsatellite based networks, cellular based networks, or both. Theconditions being monitored can also be related to a vehicle that is, forexample, self powered. The conditions can include unauthorized access tothe vehicle, unauthorized movement or transportation, etc. A towableunit can be provided for selective coupling to the self powered vehicle.Under such circumstances, an additional on board system can be providedwith the towable unit.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more importantfeatures of the invention and several, but not all, embodiments in orderthat the detailed description that follows may be better understood, andin order that the present contribution to the art may be betterappreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the inventionthat will be described hereinafter and which will form the subjectmatter of the appended claims.

In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of theinvention in greater detail, it is to be understood that the inventionis not limited in its application to the details of construction and tothe arrangements of the components set forth in the followingdescription or illustrated in the drawings. Rather, the invention iscapable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out invarious ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology andterminology employed herein are for the purpose of description andshould not be regarded as limiting.

As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception,upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basisfor the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carryingout the several purposes of the present invention. It is important,therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalentconstructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope ofthe present invention.

These, and various features of novelty which characterize the invention,are pointed out with particularity in the appended claims forming a partof this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, itsoperating advantages and the specific benefits attained by its uses,reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and preferredembodiments of the invention illustrating the best mode contemplated forpracticing the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment for thearchitecture of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an alternative embodiment for thearchitecture of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an alternative embodiment for thearchitecture of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an alternative embodiment for thearchitecture of the present invention which includes various optionalcomponents;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating details of the on board system;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating details of the server sidesub-system;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating details of the back endsub-system;

FIG. 8 illustrates the on-board data synchronizing and packingdiagram—merging multiple and parallel asynchronous data into a ‘packed’synchronous data set for economical communication;

FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram illustrating an exemplary power managementsystem.

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary implementation of the present inventionfor end to end solution data flow; and

FIG. 11 illustrates the journey definitions for the end to end solutionshown in FIG. 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference now will be made in detail to preferred embodiments of theinvention. Such embodiments are provided by way of explanation of theinvention, which is not intended to be limited thereto. In fact, thoseof ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, upon reading the presentspecification and viewing the present drawings, that variousmodifications and variations can be made.

For example, features illustrated or described as part of one embodimentcan be used on other embodiments to yield a still further embodiment.Additionally, certain features may be interchanged with similar devicesor features not mentioned yet which perform the same or similarfunctions. It is therefore intended that such modifications andvariations are included within the totality of the present invention.

General Overview of the Invention

The invention described is a method of commanding operationsrequirements between a management center or centers and a collection oflinked mobile assets, continuously monitoring a variety of operationalstatus against the required commands, changing required commands on amoment's notice, reporting of any condition outside of allowed bounds,and feeding back status continuously to provide a record of performanceand to allow continuous optimization of the assets' objectives andre-commanding; the variety of commands and operational conditionincludes parameters unrelated to each other in origin, in execution, instatus data acquisition, and in time, but related in terms of affects onthe outcome of the mobile exercise. This method permits assets to bemobile anywhere, globally, and it permits multiple assets to be groupedand ungrouped, with multiple levels of groupings in the field withouthuman intervention. It gathers both asynchronous and synchronous dataand provides a communication mechanism that guarantees communicationintegrity and enables practical transmission cost. It further enablesthe base of data to be accessed by entities with interests of planning,logistics, security, regulatory reporting, and financial reporting.

Operational parameters include truck attributes, trailer attributes,driver attributes, and combinations of these attributes that may changeat different times and with different activities. But, results of themobile exercise, such as execution according to plan, time of individualactivity executed, cost of individual or total activities executed, andeffects on requirements such as regulatory matters, customer servicematters, and financial and economic matters, may all be intricatelylinked, requiring consideration of all parameters simultaneously.

The present invention can include carious dimensions, for example,management side dimension (consisting of a server-side sub-system and aback end sub-system), an on-board dimension, and a communicationdimension. The communication dimension is used to maintain a persistent(always on), real-time, bidirectional connection between a vehicle (theon-board dimension) and a server (in the management dimension). Avehicle-originated message is sent to the server, and when theconnection is detected, a handshaking techniques used to verify thecommunication. The part of the communication dimension that representsthe invention is the intertwining of the three dimensions, i.e., theintertwining of the modem-to-server connection with a 4-level mobilecontrol unit.

The four levels of the mobile control unit are the modem, the maincontrol, the auxiliary control, and the sensory control. The modemcommunicates with the main control but also emits data to the auxiliarycontrol so that the auxiliary control can manage simultaneous connectionbetween main control unit and multiple sensory control units. Theauxiliary control unit also monitors for robust operation of the entireon-board system and corrects any on-board component that produces anerror.

The modem continuously scans for a cellular network, and when it findsone it establishes a data connection to an internet gateway. The modemthen turns control of the data transmissions (from the vehicle to theserver) to the main control unit. The main control unit is responsiblefor gathering data from any sensory control unit in the on-board system.These sensory control units are connected to the auxiliary control unit,which maintains a continuous data connection between each sensorycontrol unit to the main control unit.

Under normal circumstance, the main control unit manages the sensorycontrol units through the auxiliary control unit, which monitors maincontrol unit integrity in order to permit communication between thesensory control unit and main control unit. The main control unitreceives data from the sensory control units and combines the data intoone message protocol that can be cost-effectively transmitted over thecellular network to the server. The data from the sensory control unitsare asynchronous to each other and of differing data structures. Theauxiliary controller converts the data from the sensory control unitsinto data that is synchronous to the main control unit so that it canmerge them into the synchronous, consistent protocol required of digitalcellular communication.

The sensory control units are data gathering systems such as wiredsensors, RFID receivers that receive asynchronous signals from an RFIDtransmitter connected to an environmental or vehicle status sensor,serial data receivers such as engine status, brake and tire status, andload status sensors that retrieve data from the vehicle, and, of course,operator login, messaging, and activity change notification. Since analways-on connection exits between the vehicle and server, a real-timecommanding and re-commanding capability is established. Commands aresent from the back end or server-side sub-systems to the vehicle/asset.The on-board sub-systems monitor performance on a sub-second (enginestatus) or second basis (position) or minute basis(trailer/load/container), and these asynchronous and parallel statusparameters are put together, or ‘packed’ into a synchronous data set foreconomical communication to the server. In addition to the regularstatus reports, transactions (such as door openings/closings,start-motion and end-motion events, and trailer-containerhitching/unhitching events, are reported instantly.

On board events can be sent to the server asynchronously, but thisrequires high latency and high communication cost—so much so that thedata is not available for timely re-commanding. Therefore, the CWMP(CarrierWeb Message Protocol) was developed to document and communicatea large number of on-board data in short time period and with completeintegrity and with low cost, and in both directions (on-board to serverand server to on-board).

If the data is sent to the server in a timely fashion, then the combined(or packed) data can be parsed and sent to specific analysis processorsfor re-commanding. The re-commanding might be a changing of a route, atemperature adjustment need, a security status request, a drivermessage, etc. Such re-commanding can enhance utilization of thevehicle/asset, such as by changing a route, modifying driving patterns(acceleration, deceleration, cruise time, idle activities, etc.) forbetter fuel costs, adjusting tire pressure or adjusting distance from anear-proximity vehicle for safer driving. If such re-commanding is notautomated and implemented in real time (fast enough to accomplish anoptimization objective), then the exercise would be fruitless.Therefore, a multiple parallel synchronization and packing of on-boardoperating data and real time, constant communication between vehicle andserver is required for true mobile resource management.

Exemplary System Architectures

Turning now to the drawings, and initially to FIG. 1, a managementsystem 100 is shown for managing wireless mobile resources in accordancewith one or more embodiments of the present invention. The managementsystem 100 includes an on board system 110, a data center 130, and atleast one customer system 150A, 150B (collectively 150). While only oneon board system 110 is illustrated, it should be noted that themanagement system 100 of the present invention is capable of supportingmultiple on board systems. Further, multiple customer systems 150 (ornone) can be provided within the management system 100. The on boardsystem 110 includes a position locating system such as GPS locator 112that is used to determine the location of the on board system 110. Theon board system 110 also includes a plurality of sensors 114 a-114 n(collectively 114) capable of monitoring different conditions. Forexample, the sensors 114 can monitor the opening and closing of doors,tire pressure, fuel usage, etc. The sensors 114 independently collectinformation corresponding to the conditions they are currentlymonitoring. As such, the information collected is asynchronous betweenthe sensors 114. For example, the information collected by sensor 114 ais asynchronous with the information collected by sensor 114 b. In fact,the two sensors (114 a and 114 b) may collect data at different timeintervals and at different sampling rates.

An on board processor 116 receives the asynchronous data collected bysensors 114 and saves in the form of synchronous data that can beefficiently transmitted. The on board system 110 also includes atransceiver 118 that transmits and receives information to and from theon board system 110 over a wireless communication network. In accordancewith one or more embodiments of the present invention, the wirelesscommunication network can be in the form of a cellular network 150 usingany appropriate protocol such as GPRS, TDMA, CDMA, etc.

The data center 130 monitors various conditions detected by the sensors114. The data center 130 can subsequently perform various steps, such asissuing commands in response to the conditions detected by the sensors114. According to various embodiments of the invention, the data center130 can include a communication server 132 in order to communicate with,for example, the on board system 110. The communication server 132 canbe configured to establish communication links using wirelesscommunication networks 150 and data networks 160. Data networks 160provide access to the Internet, local area networks (LAN), wide areanetworks (WAN), etc. Further, such networks can include components ofterrestrial networks, satellite networks, or both. In accordance withone or more embodiments of the present invention, the communicationserver 132 is used to establish a communication link with the on boardsystem 110 across a wireless network 150. Furthermore the communicationlink is in the form a continuous two-way connection. The communicationlink allows the communication server 132 to receive data from the onboard system 110 in either synchronous or asynchronous format.

The data center 130 includes a data center processor 134 that processesthe data received from the on board system 110 based, at least in part,on the format of the data. For example, if the data is in synchronousformat, then the data center processor 134 would process the data togenerate streams of sensor data that are representative of theasynchronous sensor data collected by the plurality of sensors 114. Thedata center 130 also includes a database 136 for storing variousinformation related to the resource management system 100. For example,according to one or more embodiments of the present invention, the datacenter processor 134 stores operational transactions of the on boardsystem 110 at predetermined time intervals in order establish a recordof sensor data representative of the state of a vehicle carrying the onboard system 110. The state of the vehicle can include, but is notlimited to, location, status of cargo, connection to trailer,environmental conditions, etc. Furthermore, the predetermined timeintervals do not need to be fixed. They can be of variable lengthssufficient for reconstructing the state of the vehicle over a desiredtime period. The database 136 can also be used to store instructionsthat can be retrieved, for example by the data center processor 134, totransmit commands the on board 110 system in response to various sensorinformation.

In accordance with various embodiments of the invention, thecommunication server 132 can also be used to establish one or morecommunication links with the customer systems 150. Accordingly, sensordata received from the on board system 10 can be immediately transmittedto the customer system 150. For example, if a vehicle combination suchas a tractor/trailer contains the on board system 10, then the customersystem 150 can correspond to a dispatch center which owns thetractor/trailer and bears responsibility for safe delivery of certaincontents, or assets, being transported. Based on the sensor informationreceived from the data center 130, various decisions can be made at thecustomer system 150 including, for example, commands to reroute thetractor/trailer, adjust environmental settings, identify subsequentstops, redirect to avoid traffic, etc.

FIG. 2 illustrates an alternative embodiment for a resource managementsystem 200 in accordance with the present invention. The resourcemanagement system of FIG. 2 includes a mobile system 210 which consistsof a tractor 212 and trailer 214 combination, a data center 230, and twocustomer systems 250. The mobile system 210 can be configured to includeone or more on board systems, as previously described. According to theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the tractor 212 includes acommunication hub 216, a position locating system in the form of a GPSsystem 218, a CANbus 222, and MDT 220. The trailer 214 also includes aplurality of sensors/transponders 224. As illustrated by the brokenlines, the mobile system 210 communicates with the data center 230 usinga wireless communication network and General Packet Radio Service(GPRS). While, FIG. 2 illustrates a communication server utilizing GPRSstandards, it should be noted that any standard for transmitting packetdata over a wireless network could be used instead.

The data center 230 includes a communication server 232 configured toreceive packet data using GPRS standards. A server adapter 238 isprovided to interface the communication server 232 with a database 236which stores various information. A plurality of web servers 234 isprovided to implement various functions of the data center 230, such asprocessing the data received from the mobile system 210. According tothe embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 2, at least one ofthe web servers 234 can establish a communication link over a datanetwork such as a WAN, LAN, or the Internet. The two customer systems250 are able to interface with the data center, if and when necessary,using a communication link across a data communication network.

FIG. 3 illustrates an alternative embodiment for a resource managementsystem 300 in accordance with the present invention. The embodiment ofFIG. 3 can be used, for example, in situations where vehicles arelocated within a specified area that is periodically unattended. Asshown in FIG. 3, a plurality of vehicles configured as tractor 312 andtrailer 314 combinations enter and leave a distribution center 310.Trailers 314 can also be stored in the distribution center 310 untilsuch time as they are loaded with cargo and/or connected to a tractor312 or other appropriate self-powered vehicle. According to such anembodiment, on board systems can be provided on each tractor 312,trailer 314, and/or tractor and trailer combinations. Additionally,specific sensors can be provided, for example, to monitor changes in thestate of doors to the tractors 112 and/or trailers 114, as well asunauthorized movement. In particular, such movement can indicatepotential theft.

FIG. 4 is illustrates an alternative embodiment for the architecture ofthe present invention, which includes various optional components.According to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, the on board system410 includes a number of sensors such as a GPS positioning unit 412A, adriver messaging sensor 412B, an engine bus sensor 412C, etc.(collectively 412). A sensory receiver unit 414 is also included toreceive data from various sensor transmitters 418, including thoseincorporating RFID transmitters. The sensory receiver unit 412 furtherexchanges information with a yard or port monitoring system 422. The onboard system 410 also includes a main control unit 416 and auxiliarycontrol unit 420 for processing information, for example, from thesensors 412. A modem unit 424 is used to transmit information to a datacenter 430. The data center 430 includes a mobile server unit 432 (orcommunication server) capable of establishing a communication link overa wireless network. The data center 430 also includes a central database436, mobile server adapter 438, an external application interface (EAI)database, and web server 442 capable of hosting a website. Thearchitecture of FIG. 4 also includes a customer system 450 that includesan information management system 452 and EAI 454.

According to the embodiment of FIG. 4, in order to combine multipleasynchronous parallel data streams and link them to each other in realtime, a multi-sensor packing and synchronizing system, a communicationsystem with reception integrity, and a data parsing system is used. Thissystem allows multiple information to be communicated simultaneously toand from different parts of a sub-system, with a single datacommunication stream used for data integrity, communication integrity,data security, and for affordable cost, all with real time (fast enoughto enable reporting, processing, and re-commanding).

Within each sub-system illustrated in FIG. 4 (i.e., on board system 410,data center 430, and customer system 450), the data transmitted toanother sub-system is synchronized and packed together into atime/cost-economical package and communicated to another sub-system. Andwithin each sub-system, all data received from the communicatingsub-system is parsed, processed appropriately by asynchronous, parallelprocessors. Then, to communicate with another sub-system, data from theasynchronous, parallel processors are merged and sent out to thereceiving sub-system.

On Board Sub-System

FIG. 5 illustrates of the on board system in accordance with at leastone embodiment of the present invention. In addition to the componentspreviously described, the on board system illustrated in FIG. 4optionally includes a video control unit 460 and a video display unit462. Data is gathered on board and put together into a packed,synchronous structure that supports asynchronous communication to theserver.

The on-board communication utilizes a positioning device such as GPScommunication with the GPS satellite system, a 2+G cellular system suchas GPRS or CDMA (or a wifi or wi-max environment, and/or satellitecommunication network), wireless radio-RFID communication betweensensory units on the vehicle or in trailers and the Auxiliary ControlUnit, and also wired communication between sensory/actuary devices onthe vehicle or in trailers and the Auxiliary Control Unit.

The various on-board data acquisition devices, each gathering data andcommunicating it to the auxiliary and/or main on-board control unit indifferent data formats, at different times, and at different datacommunication rates. Some of these inter-device communications areserial and asynchronous, some are serial and synchronous, and some areparallel and synchronous, and some are parallel and asynchronous.

The devices that acquire data from the vehicle, and their messageformats and data types are as follows:

-   -   Position data from GPS satellite: NMEA format serially, but        asynchronously.    -   Speed data from vehicle:    -   Via canbus, asynchronous and serial, binary or hex data    -   Via Speed Sensor, asynchronous and parallel, by analog frequency    -   Via Tacho-Pulse, asynchronous and parallel, by digital level        shift    -   Load condition, trailer status & condition, security condition    -   Via RFID receiver, asynchronous and serial    -   Via wired connection to sensor    -   Truck-Trailer identification    -   Job identification and status, linked with driver status,        engine/fuel/tire/brake status, regulatory/availability status    -   Driver identification, independent of other parameters    -   Driver messaging and activity input: asynchronous and serial    -   Fueling Data:    -   Via fuel card server connection; via fuel use; use calculated        whenever a transaction occurs via fuel stores sensor:        asynchronous and serial    -   Tire Data: from TRFID via asynchronous and serial: asynchronous        and serial    -   Brake data: asynchronous and serial, from brake sensor, which        could be via canbus;    -   Acceleration/Deceleration data: asynchronous and serial    -   Radar data for near-vehicle proximity in combination with speed        and position    -   Biometrics data—fingerprint log in and distress messaging    -   Video data for security via real-time video, with compression    -   Car alarming/blocking    -   Navigation—either by sending current position and next job        position to a navigation engine which then sends data back to        the auxiliary control unit for passing along to the display or        by referring real-time traffic/road condition updates from a        remote server to define minimum drive time or trip duration or        fuel use based on real-time actual road conditions, congestion,        etc, and by also considering trucking attributes such as bridge        height and road weight limitations, and then parsing this data        from the packed, synchronous message and passing it along to a        screen to be displayed, including text to speech interfacing.

In order to provide for real-time management of the vehicle resource andany goods in transit, data from multiple on-board sources must beacquired and managed with guaranteed delivery and data integrity(deleting non-understood messages and re-communicating them). The datareceived must be native to the on-board device, meaning the device mustmonitor its sub-system asynchronously from each other. The data mustthen be acquired, verified, logged, buffered, and then turned into onedata stream for serial communication to the server. They must besynchronized with respect to each other in order to be able to supply atotal vehicle condition record to the user.

The Auxiliary 420 and Main Control Units 416 acquire data via aparallel-asynchronous to serial-synchronous packing system that analyzesall the serial data bit by bit, first reviewing a bit from device # 1,then device #2, . . . device # n, then reviewing the next bit fromdevice # 1, then #2, then #n, and establishing a data record for eachserial data transmission. The control units also are monitoring andestablishing data records for the parallel inputs from other ports inwhich the parallel devices are connected for continuous monitoring ofthese parallel devices.

After composing a data transmission from each on-board device, theAuxiliary Control Unit 420 puts together the data and merges it into asingle data stream that is then packed (multiple data combined accordingto a certain data protocol) into a binary representation by the MainControl Unit 416 and embedded into the communications message to theserver that is synchronous to the on-board device but asynchronous tothe server. The Main Control Unit 416 not only packs and merges the datawith other operating data, but it also manages time stamping andposition stamping and driver stamping and trailer stamping and truckstamping, so a complete record of activity status and transaction isreported.

With any operational transaction, all data available on board is sampledand recorded, along with time and date and position and driver andvehicle(s) stamps. This provides a data set able to define status at anycut of the data in time and a data pattern to define the operationalstatus and condition between any two data cut points (in time).Operational transactions include, but are not limited to:

-   -   Driver login, login acceptance, and activity changes    -   Vehicle power up, start, stop, hitch, unhitch    -   Inventory load, unload, environmental status change, door status        change    -   Change of load operational bounds required per job    -   Job start/stop    -   Vehicle status OK, fault condition    -   Change of vehicle operational bounds    -   Change of vehicle/driver trip or job plan or requirements        Data acquired on-board must be organized in a fashion such that        any event can be transmitted to the server by itself or can be        combined with other transaction/status information.

The communication to the server must be performed in a secure andguaranteed fashion to avoid bad data. For operational control, bad datacannot be allowed, and data acquired must be received by the user. Forthis reason, the CarrierWeb Message Protocol (CWMP) was developed. TheCWMP is a on-board parallel-synchronous serial data stream that supportsserial data communication asynchronously to the server, where the dataembedded in the communications is secure and is time, location, drive,vehicle, and serialization-stamped to be able to match data sent fromthe on-board device to data received by the server.

The term parallel-synchronous means that multiple data is sent togetherin a fashion that is synchronous to the on-board system but asynchronousto the server. The server then parses the data back into a serial streamthat can be managed by an appropriate processor. Data is asynchronous toother data if each data is created and recorded independently and whosetransactions occur and time points that are not related to the timepoints of transactions of the other data. A transaction is a change ofvalue of any sensor by more than a predefined magnitude. Different datathat are asynchronous can be synchronized according to the present theinvention by recording, transmitting, storing, and reporting, at thepoint of time of any data transaction, the value of every sensor in asubset of all sensors that may be of interest to that particulartransaction. A data record containing the value of each sensor in thesubset of interest, at the time periods of any two transactions, thetransactions being possibly of different sensor types, allows thegeneration of an activity-based operations reporting and management.

In order to offer plug 'n play capability with any vehicle having anycombination of on-board devices as chosen by the user, this CWMP musteither be employed by each device or must be implemented in conversionof data from peripheral device native form to the CWMP form by theAuxiliary Control Unit 420.

The Auxiliary Control Unit 420 automatically detects devices connectedto it and assigns a port to the device. It then establishes a connectiontable to determine how to route communications to/from the main and/orauxiliary control unit from/to the sensory unit. Specific benefitsattained with the CarrierWeb methodology and from implementation ofon-board data acquisition components in the on-board system of theinvention are:

-   -   Load monitoring with immediate alarming and re-commanding to        reduce load loss/waste    -   Reduced occurrence of incorrect activities due to wrong        driver/vehicle or load combinations    -   Navigation—real time updates of road conditions to reduce drive        time or trip time of fuel, driver, and capital cost    -   Security Monitoring—Biometrics-triggered monitoring and door        status monitoring to immediately alarm and re-command a vehicle        upon unacceptable status condition;    -   Safety Monitoring-vehicle proximity in combination with speed &        speed limit by position, tire, brake conditions and for        reporting and recommending the vehicle into required rest        activities;    -   Driver performance data reporting to optimize fuel use.    -   Activity-Based Costing can be performed by analysis of all        cost-related parameters, knowing the status of each cost-related        data type with every operational transaction and between each        consecutive, in time, operational transaction    -   Virtual booking of loads, using drive-time remaining, expected        trip completion, next job locations, etc, to minimize dead-head        (driving without a load) and dwell (waiting for a job) and to        book and plan next trips and jobs    -   Immediate recording of billable parameters to support invoicing        of time-dependent job activities or demurrage and detention.

Load Monitoring: The load is monitored by sensors communicating to theauxiliary control system by either a wired or an RFID (wireless)connection. The RFID system uses an active transmission system, wherethe RFID signal is sent from a tag to the RFID receiver, called a BaseStation, and the base station then prepares the serial, asynchronousmessage to the Auxiliary Control Unit. The Base Station must implement asub-set of the CWMP in order to be able to communicate with the MDT orwith a Auxiliary Control Unit or a modem, if the MDT is not in theconfiguration or is asleep. The RFID system features that enable CWMPand Total Transport Technology are:

-   -   Active (battery powered), programmable transmission period with        random modulation of period minimizes radio collisions    -   Passive transmissions to coordinate arrival/departure events        with other trip parameters    -   Concurrent high power data transmission with low power signal        strength transmission for hitching detection and simultaneous        transmission of ID, status, and sensory data    -   Signal strength data for position detection    -   Motion-dependent transmission period for long battery life and        both a) and monitoring for long periods at rest and b) short        period transmissions for port movement tracking.    -   Periodic status updates and also instantaneous event        transmission.    -   Auto-routing wireless network for self-transferring of data from        mobile mesh to fixed mesh and vice versa.    -   The process of data flow is:    -   A controlled-power identification and signal strength is        transmitted; a truck receiving this data detects and manages        this data based on signal strength of the transmission.    -   A max power signal is transmitted with regular status intervals        and with instant event notification, and the truck detecting it        packs this data and passes it to the server for analysis.    -   The server responds with alerts and re-commanding, and also        reports performance to various back end and server-side users.

Active Navigation: real-time communication for updates of roadconditions from a parallel server communicated with the packedsynchronous approach. Current position and next job position arecommunicated from the back end processor or from an on-board maincontrol unit, through the system of the invention (in real time) to theserver, where relevant information is parsed and sent to a navigationprocessor, which may be a part of a back end sub-system or may be athird party server. This navigation processor then considers real-timeroad status and communicates in real time back through the system of theinvention to the vehicle, in real time, with enough speed to enable theinformation to be useful for re-commanding. This implementation of theinvention avoids costly on-board systems and the complex linkage toreal-time road use updates.

Road Use Reporting—Vehicle position and activity can be reported as toroad use by time and by speed, enabling road use management by time,regulatory reporting, and road use cost support, such as taxation.

Security Monitoring—Biometrics-triggered management: sliding a finger acertain way triggers video surveillance and text to speech commandsin-cab. A certain signal transmitted to a server, through the system ofthe invention, may signal a panic situation, may trigger the server tocause an alarm to be activated, the gearing to be reduced, the engine tobe turned off, the doors to be locked (through communication to thevehicle through the invention), or may cause a video to begin for thepurposes of verifying security situation.

Safety Monitoring—Near Vehicle proximity in combination with speed, tirepressure and temperature, and brake temperature. Conditions such as lowtire pressure can be communicated to the driver to cause tire changingto avoid tire overstress and rupture. Brake temperatures can bemonitored to implement gearing changes to limit speed. Near proximity atcertain speeds can be monitored to implement cab alarms to awaken sleepydrivers, or a vehicle can be speed reduced or geared down in such nearproximity and/or high grade situations.

Driver Performance data—driver performance can be monitored in terms ofacceleration, deceleration, braking, cruise time, idle time, PTO time,and show usage with all parameters, in real time, for automatedexception reporting and real-time performance behavior modification bymessaging from the server to the driver.

Vehicle operating conditions such as these can be used to modulatevehicle performance, security, and safety, but in order to do so in afast enough time to permit re-commanding, conditions must be sampled andpacked with other operating data and sent to the server for analysis,with real-time re-commanding to modulate performance to a desiredresult. Without the system of the invention, communication is either notfast enough to offer real-time data, or data cannot be analyzed inconjunction with other data to utilize data dependencies in analysis anddecision making, or the requisite amount of data simply is not availableat the processor.

The Vehicle to Server Pipe

The always-on communication between the vehicle Main Control Unit andthe data server, using 2+G cellular connectivity, enables data to beanalyzed at the server in time for re-commanding of the vehicle. Thecommunications protocol used enables cost effective. The system is setup to require the on-board sub-system to initiate connectivity. When thecellular modem calls the cell tower and hears a response, it sends itscellular authorization, and when the cell system authorizesconnectivity, the on-board sub-system initiates a data log in over oneof several cellular gateways. This gateway takes the cellular call androutes it to the CarrierWeb data center. The CarrierWeb data center thenreceives the call, authenticates the call as being from a known andacceptable CarrierWeb sub-system, and it then acknowledges a persistentconnection via an IP address. The system uses non-routable addresses toprevent other users from breaking into the connection, and theconnection remains persistent, as long as cellular reception continues.

The on board sub-system communicates status at least once every minute,which keeps the data session open, and it communicates events as theyhappen, asynchronously. The communications protocol includes only datato be communicated in order to avoid costly overhead datacommunications. This data can include only position data if no otheroperational transaction has occurred in the previous minute. If anoperational status has changed, then all related on-board parameters arerecorded and packed with the position and time and sent to the server.The server parses the data based on what data types require updating dueto the transaction occurring on-board. For example, if a driver starts ajob loading event, then position, time, engine status (fuel used, sped,rpm, acceleration/braking/torque, idling, cruise, gearing, etc) isrecorded and attached to the transaction. The trailer status (dooropen/close and perhaps other security data, temperature, tire status,hitch status to truck, etc.) may also be sampled and attached to thetransaction. However, trailer status, as an example, may be transmittedseparately and coupled with position and time data at the server tominimize data communication.

In this way, the costs associated with a specific delivery activity,including labor cost, fuel cost, and capital utilization (truckdepreciation and maintenance), are known in the minute that the eventhappens, rather than being estimated at some later date. In addition,cost parameters such as dead head (driving without a load) and dwell(wait time) can be understood and matched to a job or an order or acustomer every minute, enabling feedback of the entire event andadjustment of commands as appropriate.

In addition, jobs can be created and modified either in the field (or onthe road) or can be analyzed in conjunction with other vehicles somulti-vehicle job orders can be created, modeled, and evaluated in termsof performance, efficiency, regulatory requirements, and cost.

The on board power system is based on power from the vehicle battery.However, a small, low energy on-board power buffer is used to maintainpower during switching glitches, as with engine cranking. This constantpowering is important because position stamps can take time to berecorded in certain area, like urban canyons, and position stamps areneeded to complete distribution transaction recording. This on-boardpower buffering uses the vehicle power to trickle charge a re-chargeablebattery that is switched into the system during glitches.

Server-Side Sub-System

FIG. 6 illustrates further details of the data center 430 in accordancewith one or more embodiments of the present invention. The data center430 includes a mobile server 432, a mobile server adapter 434, adatabase 436, a web server 438 capable of hosting a website, and an EAIdatabase 440. When asynchronous data is received at the mobile server432, the data source (vehicle) must be verified and authenticated, whichis done by a GPRS Server 434. Then the data is data parsed by the GPRSServer Adapter 434, and the data is sent to various parallel paths todifferent processors: a database to log the data, the web-server tosupport users logged in to the system, and the EAI (External ApplicationInterface) database to prepare to send data to the user's back end.

After the GPRS server 434 authenticates the communication, it sends anacknowledgement of the message being sent back to the vehicle. Eachvehicle originates the communication and will continue to process andstore information but will not transmit it until the previous messagehas been sent and delivery has been received, with verification thatdata received is correct. Once this confirmation has been received bythe vehicle, it will send the next message with whatever data has beenreceived embedded into it for parsing and storage by the server. In thisway, message integrity is guaranteed, and the on-board asynchronousparallel data will have been turned into a parallel message butcommunicated serially and asynchronously to the server, which parses itand turns it into parallel synchronous data required by the server.

All server-side components (GPRS Server, GPRS Server Adapter, WebServer, Database, EAI Database) are completely independent from eachother and can be implemented on separate, even multiple machines. Thisarrangement allows parallel processing within the server-sidesub-system. But since vehicle communications are controlled by the GPRSServer, these communications are serially managed. However, multipledata is packed into the serial message, allowing for an effectivelyparallel communication. Furthermore, many of the functions performed byvarious elements of the present invention can be implemented usingcommon processors and/or computer systems.

After the server 432 records the data received, from whatever devicesent it, it categorizes it and send it to one or more databases 436 asrequired by the type of data. Each data can then be analyzed and actedupon and a re-commanding transmitted back to the vehicle to takeappropriate action, in real time, like seconds, when the vehicle and/ordriver has the time to optimize the status/operation. The data analysiscan be automated by the server 432, can be validated by dispatcherlogged into the server 432, or can be transmitted to a third partysever, such as user server, route optimizer server, navigation server,etc. The always-on pipe is critical to this function because if amessage with a real-time-dependent command is not received, as if with adropped communication, then with the next vehicle logon, the commandmust be re-evaluated given the time of the re-logon and actual receiptof that command.

The real-time server-side sub-system data access is also necessarybecause different users, such as customers, security agents, logisticsforwarders and brokers, schedule based on the timing of distributiontransactions and events. The server can authorize these users access tothe vehicle status information based on real time status, such asposition, job being implemented, etc.

The Back End Sub-System

FIG. 7 illustrates various details of a customer system 450 inaccordance with at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thecustomer system 450 includes a local EAI (external applicationinterface) database that synchronizes each minute with the EAI databaseserver-side. The user's back end can then communicate with the local EAItables to receive and send information. Forward information is that datagoing to the vehicle, and it consists of two types of data: datagenerated on the server and sent to the vehicle, and data generated atthe back end and sent to the server to be forwarded on to the vehicle(this generally includes trip and job commands, including allowedactivities by driver, truck, trailer, location, and time). The backend-generated data is produced by the user asynchronously, and the datais stored in the local EAI for communication to the server by periodic,synchronous XML soap calls over the public internet or VPN. The reversedata are information from the vehicle that are received by the serverand then passed on to the back end with each synchronization (by XMLsoap call, for example) for reporting.

FIG. 8 illustrates the details for synchronizing data in accordance withat least one embodiment of the present invention.

Data from sensory units (510A) 510B, 510C) is sampled, and when a startidentifier is detected by the sampling, the remaining samplings recordbit by bit data, loading a buffer from each sensory unit 510. Bysampling the sensory units 510 in an alternating fashion, data isrecorded into the auxiliary control unit 420 and synchronized forpacking by the main control unit 416. In this way, sensory units 510 cansubmit data in sub-seconds, seconds, or minutes, as appropriate to thetype of data

Sensory data that has been synchronized by the auxiliary control unit420 is passed to the main control unit 416, where it is packed into abinary representation with other sensory data. The packing refers tojoining and multiple encoding of sensory data to maximize cellulartransmission speed, throughout and to minimize the data transmissioncost. Data is packed and managed as per urgent 512, standard 514, andsampling 516 data classes. The main control unit 416 then manages theinterface with the modems, through a gateway interface managed by theauxiliary control unit 420, which can direct the communication by one ofmultiple modems. The main control unit 416 also manages data display, ifappropriate to the user interface unit.

FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram illustrating a power management system inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention. Thepower management system on the truck/powered unit, is capable ofoffering power integrity throughout the intended environment, includingvehicle idle times (and battery run down) and engine cranking events,which can cause power loss and void position registration. If positioninformation is voided, then a complete audit record of performance, andthe ability to automatically audit performance and appropriatelyre-command the vehicle, is lost. Therefore, a power system must offercost-effective and safe power for the period of possible outages andmust not cause heating that would require heat sinking (as any heatsinking would limit application, which is intended to be underdashboards).

This power management system uses the vehicle battery to provide tricklecharging to a small rechargeable battery. During engine cranking events,voltage is lost for a period of up to the order of magnitude of seconds,which, with the energy load of GPS and user interfaces, cannot bemaintained with other short-term energy storage devices, such ascapacitors. Downstream from the battery, an active voltage clampingcircuit provides protection from surges until the vehicle fuse can cleara fault. For short term surges, varistors are used to clamp voltages tosafe levels. Voltage regulators then manage menial voltage tolerancesinto levels sustainable for processor and control functions.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, power is managedby electronically interrupting a voltage line that supplies voltage to apower line coupled to the selected device when a voltage on the line isoutside a predetermined range. A secondary voltage source is connectedto the power line of the device while electronically interrupting thevoltage line to maintain the output voltage to the at least one deviceat an acceptable level. Next, the voltage line is reconnected when thevoltage returns to the predetermined range. The secondary voltage sourceis disconnected from the power line when the voltage returns to withinto the predetermined range. Finally, the secondary voltage sourcerecharged by the voltage line while it is disconnected from the powerline.

FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate the details of applying the present inventionfor an end to end solution. At step S610, details of the trip arecreated. This can entail, for example, selecting travel origination,destination, departure times, etc. At step S612, various details arecollected for the specific origination. At step S614, variousinformation regarding the origination drayage is collected. At stepS616, information regarding the origination port is collected. At stepS618, information regarding the destination port is collected. At stepS620, information regarding the destination dray is collected. Finally,the vehicle arrives at the appropriate destination at step S622 whereadditional information is collected.

This type of implementation is an extension of the combination of theCarrierWeb for Trucks, CarrierWeb for Trailers, and CarrierWeb for Yardssolutions with the yard being a large yard. In this case, the RFIDmonitoring solution, and the interface with the communication system,requires the following features for real-time monitoring application:

-   -   a longer monitoring interval to avoid radio transmission        collisions from a large number of transmitters (as in a dense        port or on a densely loaded freight ship), and multi-power level        transmission that uses high power (at long intervals to save        battery power) to transmit a long distance and a lower power to        communicate at shorter intervals after a start-motion activity        is logged. Therefore, the RFID system must be modulated in        transmission interval with activity status;    -   An architecture that supports the parallel, asynchronous data        input being converted to a synchronous, packed data structure        for management with all other operating data, either in a truck        system on a yard system;    -   receiver filtering to detect data with low signal-noise ratios;    -   receiver that operates on low voltage and low energy for solar        powering at yard locations, which enables low installation cost;    -   receiver that daisy-chains and wirelessly communicates data from        one receiver to another, which allows low installation cost.        Implementation of the Invention

Using the invention, CarrierWeb provides transportation, distribution,and mobile activity solutions such as:

-   -   unlimited messaging between dispatch and driver;    -   activity based costing, consisting of fuel and labor cost per        activity;    -   trailer management, including temperature monitoring, door        monitoring and lock control, trailer/container hitch/unhitch        reporting and auditing;    -   fuel cost optimization, based on vehicle tuning, route        optimization (including consideration of current road conditions        such as construction, traffic, breakdowns, accidents, etc.), and        driving behavior optimization;    -   smart load planning, considering drive time remaining,        detention, deadheading, and dwell;    -   mobile security, to include detection of out-of-tolerance        conditions, either due to vehicle position/time, door        openings/position, driver input (panic button or message,        possibly with biometrics verification)    -   consignment management, including automated freight management,        or the ability to post asset availability or capacity to        automated load matching, freight auctions, or other services        that can fill up capacity with no added cost.        All of these parameters can be presented either or both        independently and dependently with other parameters to allow the        user to generate an entire picture of the operational event and        to compare, immediately, with planned activities so either a        detailed result can be depicted or merely an exception report        can be depicted.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, the present invention can beimplemented in manned or unmanned yards, depots, and ports. In order tooffer a complete management system, a yard must be managed to providemonitoring service when trailers or containers are unhitched from atruck/powered vehicle. A real-time management system is only as strongas its weakest link, meaning every activity and every location and timeslice must be monitored. Therefore, an un-tethered monitoring andcommunication capability must be available. By utilizing independentdata synchronizing and packing, a complete end (loading) to end(unloading) solution is created with the invention. In this case, theterm “independent” means that trailer/container data is managed eitherby the truck, in conjunction with other truck operating data, or by theyard monitor. So the asset is monitored either behind a truck or in ayard, without interruption. This use can include relative signalstrength of RFID data to determine detailed location, such as positionin a yard or port or position by loading dock number at a distributioncenter.

The present invention can be implemented for mobile inventory managementand paperless manifest management applications. This arrangementinvolves an RFID transmission unit on a pallet or other object to beloaded into a trailer or container. A receiver in the trailer/containerrecognizes the pallet/load when it is loaded into the vehicle, and thisdata is wirelessly daisy-chained to another receiver, either on a truckon in a yard. The truck/yard system then transmits the transaction ofentry or exit (or the periodic status update) to the server. In thisway, a completely automated record of inventory is made during thetransportation process. Each transaction (or periodic status report) canhave a load stamp, a time stamp, a trailer stamp, a truck stamp, aposition stamp, a driver stamp. And by linking through the real-timecommunication system to the back end sub-system of the invention, a linkto the SKU level can be maintained.

The present invention can also be implemented with road use reportingapplications. The real-time management of status can include location,speed, and road use duty. Applications that provide for taxation orother variable payment in relation to asset use can maintain billing peruse. This application is a manifestation of automated driver payment,trailer rental, brake system lease, etc, which enables a record of usefor pay-by use activities. Another type of invention application is paybe movement, where cranes or other asset movement systems are used tocompensate for effort used in management of the mobile activity.

The present invention can be implemented to virtual freight managementapplications. These implementations use the real-time operating data toreview a vehicle's ability to implement available jobs, can possiblyreview operating conditions such as driver rest requirements, vehiclelocation, trailer type, monitoring and reporting capabilities requiredof the load, estimated pickup and delivery time, and implementationcost. Then back-end sub-system can then interact with a load managementsystem to automatically select and negotiate with a vehicle, and perhapsa vehicle owner override/veto/accept criteria, to book jobs. Thismonitoring and dependent commanding can include partial jobordering/negotiating/commanding, as with filling back-haul capacity withavailable jobs.

In accordance with other embodiments, the present invention can beimplemented to vehicle and/or driver performance monitoringapplications. Vehicle performance can include speed, fuel efficiency,brake application, power take off, etc. Driver performance might includeacceleration and deceleration profiles, idle time profiles, cruise time,coast time, brake applications, fearing, etc, and profiles can be madedependent on route, load, trailer type, etc.

The present invention is capable of offering a system/method/apparatusto provide real-time operational transaction a) reporting and b)management—this includes immediate re-commanding as a separateindependent claim—of vehicle activities. Asynchronous data is collectedfrom different sensors in parallel with each other. When any sensorstatus changes (experiences an operational transaction), the status ofall other sensors is actively recorded and transmitted to the serverover an always-on 2-way connection. Then, by parsing the data for eachsensor and storing it (concurrently in series and parallel), the datacan be stored, managed, and queried for any combination of operatingparameters for any contiguous time periods and reconstruct anyactivity-based performance.

For example, when a driver changes activities from driving to resting,we take a cut-set of data (that spans all sensors for that time period)is taken and all fuel conditions are recorded. When the driver startsdriving again, another cut-set is taken, and thus allows determinationof the amount of fuel used while that driver rested, on a particulardelivery trip, on a particular day of the week, in a particular region.The driver's pay may be affected by fuel used during resting, it may beaffected by the number of working or rest hours, by the day of the week,and by the distance away from ‘home base’. In order to record all thisdata to make operational reports, the system must both record a lot ofdata and take cut-sets of all data with a transaction of any one sensor.

On this basis, the present invention offers a real-time activity-basedoperational reporting system. The system can determine operating costsbased on actual activities (often takes weeks in practice without realtime reporting of all major vehicle cost items, which are capital costsfor vehicle lease, distance traveled for vehicle maintenance allocation,driver/labor, and fuel). This operational reporting system can be justinvolving data sensed on board and reported to the vehicle, withoutvehicle re-commanding.

Additionally, the system of the present invention can re-command thevehicle immediately, fast enough to effect performance based on datasensed. For example, the system can determine optimaldriver/truck/trailer schedules based on driver-hours remaining that day,updated every minute, which enable dispatchers to plan loads and decidewhich trucks and which drivers are available and have driving hours leftand send updated work instructions to the vehicle. The system could alsoreview vehicle speed, check with speed limits of the road it is on, andadvise the driver to slow down, or advise the driver of near-proximityobstacles (like tailgating).

The present invention utilizes a serial messaging protocol to ensurethat if we lose a cell connection or internet connection, we stopsending messages and buffer all following messages yet to be sent untila connection is re-established. So each message is acknowledged, and thenext message to be sent is not sent until the previous message has beenacknowledged. At the server, a syntax checker checks that messagesarriving are valid communication data streams as defined before they aretransmitted from the on-board transmitter. This device must be one of alimited number of dedicated machines, as all vehicles in the field(could be millions of vehicles) must access one of the limited number ofdedicated machines by a unique address, such as with an IP address foreach machine—and the vehicles must have the pre-defined IP addressesstored in on-board memory so they can request the cell/internet gatewayto logon to one of these machines over the internet.

When a message arrives at the server from a vehicle, and after itssyntax is checked, it is stored and logged and sent to one of aplurality of semantics checkers, which are separate physical machinesthat decode the message and send it to: (1) a database, and (2) sends itto a web server for display to a user logged onto our data center, and(3) an EAI server to send to user's back end information system. Thissemantics checker decodes messages and stores them in the appropriateplaces, and so this work is separated form the syntax checker in termsof being implemented on a different machine. A multiplicity of semanticschecker can be used, and the syntax checker determines which semanticschecker to use based on a load matching algorithm.

The syntax checker maintains the connection with the vehicle, sendinghandshake messages back to the vehicle to acknowledge receipt of themessage. This must be done very quickly to enable a high volume ofmessages and fast communication. Next messages are not sent from thevehicle to the server until the previous message has been acknowledged.So the syntax checker is capable of maintaining communications with thevehicle without waiting for the semantics checker to complete pendingprocesses.

The syntax checker can also be used to maintain a message queue untilthe semantics checker verifies that the data has been decoded and storedsuccessfully in the required places (1)-(2)-(3) above. In this way, theof the present invention:

-   -   maintains fast communications with vehicles, so next messages        can be sent to the syntax checker, enabling high volume of        messaging in a fast time with a practical number of servers;    -   maintains message integrity and reliability by logging the        message in the fats syntax checker while the slower semantics        checker does the decoding and parsing and storing of the        data—when storing operating data required to report driver        activity changes that affect regulatory reporting and driver        payroll and customer billing, message integrity is essential;    -   handles a high volume of messages required to manage a fleet of        tens of thousands of vehicles, with data arriving at the server        every second.

Common practice for Internet sites is to use both syntax and semanticscheckers on the same machine as they do not have the combination of alimited number of dedicated IP addresses, fast handshake requirements,and combination of fast and slow duties. Routers can point to a largenumber of IP addresses, but vehicles cannot. Accordingly, the systemmust be able to process messages in serial fashion in order toselectively exit the message process functions in various parts andprocess parts of it in parallel to speed up overall processing time andto reduce the overall serial process delay and to being processing thenext message effectively before the previous one was finished, so moremessages can be processed while still using the serial handshakingmethod to manage cellular-internet connection issue. The large number ofvehicles required of the small number of IP addresses and therequirements of fast handshaking require a unique method to process nextsyntax messages at the same time as the previous message is beingsemantics checked and processed, while still adhering to the serialmessage protocol. This method enables management of the always-oncommunications with enough data to offer real-time operational reportingand management.

The many features and advantages of the invention are apparent from thedetailed specification, and thus, the appended claims are intended tocover all such features and advantages, which fall within the truespirit and scope of the invention. Further, since numerous modificationsand variations will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art,the invention should not be limited to the exact construction andoperation illustrated and described. Rather, all suitable modificationsand equivalents may be considered as falling within the scope of theclaimed invention.

1. A wireless mobile resource management system comprising: an on boardsystem including: a position locating system for determining a locationof the on board system, a plurality of sensors for monitoring conditionsand independently collecting information corresponding to sensed statesof the conditions being monitored, each sensor collecting theinformation asynchronously with respect to other sensors, and atransceiver for transmitting and receiving information to and from theon board system over a wireless communication network; a processor forcollecting the asynchronous sensor data collected by the plurality ofsensors and saving the asynchronous data in the form of synchronousdata; a data center for monitoring at least one sensed state from theplurality of sensors and providing instructions to the on board systemin response to the at least one monitored sensed state, the data centerincluding: a communication server for establishing a first communicationlink with the on board system over the wireless communication network,and further establishing a second communication link over a datacommunication network, a data center processor for processing thesynchronous data, and generating streams of sensor data representativeof the asynchronous sensor data collected by the plurality of sensors,and a database for storing operational transactions of the on boardsystem at predetermined time intervals and/or upon a change in a sensedstate of at least one of the conditions being monitored, wherein acontinuous two-way connection is established between the on board systemand the data center across the wireless communication network; andwherein the synchronous data saved by the processor is synchronous withrespect to the data center processor.
 2. The wireless mobile resourcemanagement system of claim 1, further comprising at least one customersystem for establishing a third communication link over the datacommunication network, communicating with the data center, accessingconditions monitored by the sensors, and further transmitting controldata to the on board system.
 3. The wireless mobile resource managementsystem of claim 1, wherein processor for collecting the asynchronoussensor data is included in the on board system.
 4. The wireless mobileresource management system of claim 1, wherein processor for collectingthe asynchronous sensor data is included in the data center.
 5. Thewireless mobile resource management system of claim 4, wherein processorfor collecting the asynchronous sensor data is the data centerprocessor.
 6. The wireless mobile resource management system of claim 1,wherein database stores operational transactions of the on board systemrelated to location at predetermined time intervals.
 7. The wirelessmobile resource management system of claim 1, wherein database storesoperational transactions of the on board system upon a change in asensed state of at least one of the conditions being monitored.
 8. Thewireless mobile resource management system of claim 1, wherein theposition locating system is satellite based.
 9. The wireless mobileresource management system of claim 1, wherein the position locatingsystem is cellular based.
 10. The wireless mobile resource managementsystem of claim 1, wherein the position locating system is based on bothsatellite and cellular communication networks.
 11. The wireless mobileresource management system of claim 1, wherein at least one of theplurality of sensors includes an RFID transmitter.
 12. The wirelessmobile resource management system of claim 1, wherein: the on boardprocessor includes an auxiliary processor for alternately receivingsampled information collected by the plurality of sensors and generatingthe synchronized data; and the on board processor processes thesynchronized data stream for transmission over the wirelesscommunication network.
 13. The wireless mobile resource managementsystem of claim 1, wherein the control data includes at least one ofload plans, updates, messages, and instructions.
 14. The wireless mobileresource management system of claim 1, wherein the operationaltransactions include time, date, and position information for the onboard system.
 15. The wireless mobile resource management system ofclaim 14, wherein the operational transactions further include thesensed state of the conditions being monitored by the on board system.16. The wireless mobile resource management system of claim 1, whereinthe conditions being monitored include environmental conditions.
 17. Thewireless mobile resource management system of claim 1, furthercomprising a vehicle, and wherein the on board system is contained inthe vehicle.
 18. The wireless mobile resource management system of claim1, wherein the conditions being monitored include unauthorized access toa vehicle equipped with the on board system.
 19. The wireless mobileresource management system of claim 18, wherein the vehicle is selfpowered.
 20. The wireless mobile resource management system of claim 19,further comprising a towable unit selectively connectable to the selfpowered vehicle.
 21. The wireless mobile resource management system ofclaim 18, wherein the conditions being monitored include unauthorizedmovement of the vehicle.
 22. The wireless mobile resource managementsystem of claim 18, wherein the conditions being monitored includeunauthorized transportation of the vehicle from a predeterminedlocation.
 23. The wireless mobile resource management system of claim 1,wherein the on board system further comprises an interface unit fordisplaying information and receiving input.
 24. A wireless mobileresource management system comprising: a self powered vehicle; a towableunit selectively connectable to the self powered vehicle, and includingan area for storing at least one mobile asset; an on board systemlocated in at least one of the self powered vehicle and the towableunit, the on board system including: a position locating system fordetermining a location of the on board system, a plurality of sensorsfor monitoring conditions and independently collecting informationcorresponding to sensed states of the conditions being monitored, eachsensor collecting the information asynchronously with respect to othersensors, and at least one sensor including an REID transmitter, and atransceiver for transmitting and receiving information to and from theon board system over a wireless communication network; a processor foralternately collecting the asynchronous sensor data collected by theplurality of sensors and generating synchronized data; and a data centerfor monitoring at least one sensed state from the plurality of sensorsand providing instructions to the on board system in response to the atleast one monitored sensed state, the data center including: acommunication server for establishing a first communication link withthe on board system over the wireless communication network, and furtherestablishing a second communication link over a data communicationnetwork, a data center processor for processing the synchronous data,and generating parallel streams of sensor data corresponding to theasynchronous sensor data collected by the plurality of sensors, and adatabase for storing operational transactions of the on board system atpredetermined time intervals and/or upon a change in a sensed state ofat least one of the conditions being monitored, wherein an always on,continuous two-way connection is established between the on board systemand the data center across the wireless communication network; whereinthe synchronous data saved by the on board processor is synchronous withrespect to the data center processor.
 25. The wireless mobile resourcemanagement system of claim 24, further comprising at least one customersystem for establishing a third communication link over the datacommunication network, communicating with the data center, accessingconditions monitored by the sensors, and further transmitting controldata to the on board system.
 26. The wireless mobile resource managementsystem of claim 24, wherein processor for collecting the asynchronoussensor data is included in the on board system.
 27. The wireless mobileresource management system of claim 24, wherein processor for collectingthe asynchronous sensor data is included in the data center.
 28. Thewireless mobile resource management system of claim 27, whereinprocessor for collecting the asynchronous sensor data is the data centerprocessor.
 29. The wireless mobile resource management system of claim24, wherein database stores operational transactions of the on boardsystem related to location at predetermined time intervals.
 30. Thewireless mobile resource management system of claim 24, wherein databasestores operational transactions of the on board system upon a change ina sensed state of at least one of the conditions being monitored.
 31. Awireless monitoring system comprising: a self powered vehicle includinga plurality of mobile control units, each mobile control unit including:a processor for collecting data of the at least one sensed state fromthe at least one monitored mobile asset during connection to the selfpowered vehicle, a transceiver for wirelessly transmitting the datawhich is collected by the processor after processing to a wide areawireless communication system and receiving data from the wirelesscommunication system, a plurality of towable units selectivelyconnectable to the self powered vehicle, each towable unit including: anarea in which at least one mobile asset is stored during at least towingof a towed unit by the self powered vehicle, at least one sensing unitfor monitoring the at least one mobile asset and providing dataregarding at least one sensed state of the at least one mobile asset,the sensing unit being wirelessly coupled to an associated one of themobile control units during connection of the towed unit to one of theself powered vehicles; and a management control system which providesinstructions to the mobile control units for responding to the at leastone sensed state of the at least one monitored mobile asset and realtime monitoring of the at least one sensed state of the at least onemobile asset of each mobile unit associated with the self poweredvehicle; and wherein the wireless communication system provides two waycontinuous connectivity between the plurality of mobile control unitsand the management control system.
 32. A system in accordance with claim31 wherein: the at least one sensing unit is associated with at leastone REID system associated with a mobile asset and a towed unit whichwirelessly communicates over a wireless communication link to provide tothe towed unit on which the at least one sensing unit is located the atleast one sensed state of the at least one mobile asset and theinstructions and at least one sensing unit which monitors at least onestate of an engine of the self powered vehicle which monitors at leastone state of the engine with the at least one state associated with themobile asset and the at least one sensed state of the engine beingprocessed by the processor into a data stream which is synchronous tothe at least one sensing unit and asynchronous to the wide areacommunication system and the management control system; and themanagement control system in response to reception of the synchronousdata stream from at least one mobile control unit provides theinstructions to the at least one mobile control unit associated with atleast one of the self powered vehicles which are responsive to the atleast one sensed state which pertain to operation of the engine of atleast one of the self powered vehicles and/or the at least one mobilesensed state associated with the at least one mobile asset of at leastone of the towed units.
 33. A method for wirelessly managing mobileresources comprising: providing an on board system on a mobile resource;determining a position location of the on board system; monitoringconditions and independently collecting information corresponding tosensed states of the conditions being monitored by a plurality ofsensors, each sensor collecting the information asynchronously withrespect to other sensors; transmitting and receiving information betweenthe on board system and a data center over a wireless communicationnetwork; collecting the asynchronous sensor data collected by theplurality of sensors and saving the asynchronous data in the form ofsynchronous data; monitoring at least one sensed state from theplurality of sensors and providing instructions to the on board systemin response to the at least one monitored sensed state; establishing afirst communication link with the on board system over the wirelesscommunication network, and further establishing a second communicationlink over a data communication network; processing the synchronous data,and generating streams of sensor data representative of the asynchronoussensor data collected by the plurality of sensors; and storingoperational transactions of the on board system at predetermined timeintervals and/or upon a change in a sensed state of at least one of theconditions being monitored, wherein a continuous two-way connection isestablished between the on board system and the data center across thewireless communication network; and wherein the synchronous data savedby the processor is synchronous with respect to the data centerprocessor.
 34. A method for at least wirelessly monitoring mobileresources comprising: monitoring a plurality of conditions of a mobileresource with an on board system comprising a plurality of sensorsprovided on board the mobile resource, one of the plurality of sensorscollecting information concerning a first condition at a timeindependent from a time at which another of the plurality of sensorscollects information concerning a second condition; independentlycollecting information corresponding to sensed states of the conditionsbeing monitored by the plurality of sensors; upon a status change of oneof the plurality of sensors, creating a data record containing thestatus of all of the plurality of the sensors; and transmitting at leastone of the information collected corresponding to the sensed states ofthe conditions being monitored by the plurality of sensors or the datarecord containing the status of all of the plurality of the sensors fromthe on board system to a database over a wireless communication network,wherein a continuous two-way connection is established between the onboard system and the database across the wireless communication network.35. The method for at least wirelessly monitoring mobile resourcesaccording to claim 34, further comprising transmitting a command overthe wireless communication network to the mobile resource to manage themobile resource based on at least one data record recording the statusof all of the plurality of the sensors.
 36. The method for at leastwirelessly monitoring mobile resources according to claim 34, whereinthe plurality of sensors is a subset of all of the sensors provided onthe mobile resource.
 37. A system for at least wirelessly monitoringmobile resources comprising: an on board system comprising a pluralityof sensors provided on board the mobile resource for monitoring aplurality of conditions of a mobile resource, one of the plurality ofsensors collecting information concerning a first condition at a timeindependent from a time at which another of the plurality of sensorscollects information concerning a second condition; a processor forindependently collecting information corresponding to sensed states ofthe conditions being monitored by the plurality of sensors; a processorfor creating a data record containing the status of all of the pluralityof the sensors upon a status change of one of the plurality of sensors;a database; and a wireless communication network for transmitting atleast one of the information collected corresponding to the sensedstates of the conditions being monitored by the plurality of sensors orthe data record containing the status of all of the plurality of thesensors from the on board system to the database, wherein a continuoustwo-way connection is established between the on board system and thedatabase across the wireless communication network.
 38. The system forat least wirelessly monitoring mobile resources according to claim 37,wherein the plurality of sensors is a subset of all of the sensorsprovided on the mobile resource.